Prompted by leaks, the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office in Minnesota released the long-awaited autopsy report on Prince Thursday, declaring the cause was accidental fentanyl toxicity.

Fentanyl is a powerful painkiller. The official cause of death thus bolsters previous reports that Prince died from a opioid overdose, and that investigators were examining how he might have obtained the drug.

The press release on the autopsy said that the medical examiner would not be making further comment, and the Carver County Sheriff's Office, which is leading the investigation of Prince's April 21 death, is continuing its inquiry.

The release, which came in a tweet by the medical examiner's office, showed a one-page summary of the autopsy report, which also included some details about how much Prince weighed at time of death (112 pounds); what he was wearing (black cap, black shirt, grey undershirt, black pants, black boxer briefs, black socks); his scars (left hip, right lower leg); and how the "injury" occurred.

"The decedent self-administered fentanyl."

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, fentanyl is a "powerful synthetic opiate analgesic similar to but more potent than morphine. It is typically used to treat patients with severe pain, or to manage pain after surgery. It is also sometimes used to treat people with chronic pain who are physically tolerant to opiates."

The DEA says fentanyl and its analogues come from China. Often it's mixed with heroin, to the point that field tests may indicate heroin when it’s actually fentanyl.

The autopsy tweet went out Thursday afternoon after the Associated Press reported, via an anonymous source, that Prince died of an opioid overdose.

Shortly after the AP's report, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune also quoted a "source with knowledge of the megastar’s death investigation" as saying that Prince died of an "overdose of painkillers."

The Sheriff's Office and the local Midwest Medical Examiner's Office, which conducted the autopsy, said immediately after the leaks Thursday that they had nothing new to report on the case. A few hours later, the tweet went out.

Prince's only full sister, Tyka Nelson, did not immediately respond to the autopsy report, but one of their half-siblings, Alfred Jackson, issued a statement through his lawyer, Frank Wheaton.

"On behalf of Alfred Jackson and the other family members and presumptive heirs, we are saddened by the reports that have been provided," the statement said. "However, we are thankful and gracious to the public for lending their never-ending support to the brilliant contributions in music that our brother gave to the world."

The official autopsy report on Prince, who was found dead and alone in an elevator at his Paisley Park compound in Carver County outside Minneapolis, has been long delayed. Conducted within days of his death, it is supposed to show why the 57-year-old superstar died.

The report has been delayed more than usual in similar cases of mysterious deaths; also, results of toxicology tests typically take several weeks at least to come back.

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Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis and was part of the 'Minneapolis Sound' in the 1990s: a mix of funk, rock, pop and new-wave synthesizers. A master of many instruments and a vessel of seemingly endless scores, Prince and his music constantly evolved. Michael Ochs Archives

Prince performs his first of three shows onstage during 'One Night... Three Venues' hosted by Prince and Lotusflow3r.com held at NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE on March 28, 2009, in Los Angeles. Kristian Dowling, Getty Images for Lotusflow3r.com

From long and straight, to curly with a pompadour, to short and sassy, to modified afro styles, Prince's hair was always a splendid feature of his fashion. Here he performs at a benefit concert for the family of Charles (Big Chick) Huntsberry in Minneapolis in 1990. David Brewster, AP

Prince poses with his first wife Mayte as they arrives at the De Beer and Versace charity fashion event in June 1999. Mayte was a dancer in Prince's shows. The couple had one son who died in infancy. Sinead Lynch, AFP/Getty Images

Never boxed into one genre of music, Prince performs during a jam session in the Montreux Jazz Cafe after his concert at the 41st Montreux Jazz Festival, in Montreux, Switzerland. Laurent Gillieron, EPA

Prince, a basketball fan and reported excellent shooter, watches an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 3, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

Boxing great Muhammad Ali embraces the then-Artist Formerly Known as Prince during a meeting in Washington June 24, 1997, before a news conference where they were to announce plans for a benefit concert to promote international harmony and tolerance. Karin Cooper, Rogers & Cowan via AP

Investigators have focused on what roleprescription painkillers played in Prince's death, and if so, how he obtained them.

The investigation has been coordinated by the county Sheriff's Office, with help from the federal DEA and the U.S. Justice Department.

Although Prince was known to be an advocate of healthy living, who didn't drink or take illicit drugs, he may have suffered from debilitating pain from decades of vigorous concert performances in the high-heeled shoes he habitually wore.

Only days before he was found dead, Prince's staff had contacted a specialist in painkiller addiction to rescue Prince from what was described as a "grave medical emergency." The doctor, Howard Kornfeld, sent his son to meet with Prince; he arrived at Paisley Park and was present when Prince was found by his shocked staff.

Meanwhile, other local doctors were treating Prince or were planning to, including Michael Todd Schulenberg, a specialist in obstetrics, who also arrived at Paisley Park on the day Prince was found bearing the results of mysterious tests he had conducted on the singer.

And six days before his death, his private plane, enroute home after concerts in Atlanta, made an emergency landing in Moline, Ill., because he had fallen unconscious from an opioid overdose, according to reporting by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He was carried from the plane at the airport where paramedics gave him a shot of the opioid antidote Narcan. He was taken to a hospital, but left within a few hours against medical advice.

Investigators have said Prince was last seen the night before his death when an acquaintance dropped him off at Paisley Park about 8 p.m. following a visit to a drugstore. He was found at around 9:30 am the next day.

Aside from the lingering mystery of why he died and who might have played a role in his death, Prince's multi-million estate is in disarray because no will has been found.

A special administrator has been appointed to search for all his possible assets and potential heirs. These include a half-dozen previously known siblings and half-siblings, plus claims from a previously unknown half-sibling, descendants of a deceased half-sibling, and at least one man, a federal prison inmate, who says he's Prince's son as the product of a one-night stand.

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Prince, seen here at the Super Bowl in Miami in 2007, was found dead at Paisley Park compound on April 21, 2016. Since then, the public has gotten to know some of his potential heirs, the doctors who treated him or planned to, some of the lawyers involved in settling his estate, and the police investigating his death. Chris O'Meara, AP

Carver County Attorney Mark Metz, right, announced April 19, 2018 that no criminal charges will be filed in the 2016 death of Prince, effectively ending the state's two-year investigation into how Prince got the fentanyl that killed him. On the left are Chief Deputy Sheriff Jason Kamerud and Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson, who led the police investigation. Glen Stubbe, Minneapolis Star Tribune via AP

Prince, center, enters a clinic of Dr. Michael Todd Schulenberg on April 20, 2016, the day before he was found dead of an accidental fentanyl overdose. Image made from surveillance video provided by the Carver County Sheriff's Office as part of investigation into Prince's death. AP

Dr. Michael Todd Schulenberg, a local specialist in obstetrics, who treated Prince before his death. He subsequently agreed to pay $30,000 to settle a federal civil claim for knowingly writing prescriptions for Prince in someone else's name, although he insisted he did nothing wrong. AP

Prince, center, and his band The New Power Generation in 1996: Rhonda Smith, left, Kirk Johnson, Morris Hayes and Kathleen Dyson. Johnson, one of Prince's oldest friends, was working as a manager of Paisley Park when Prince was found dead, and grew so concerned about his health in his last days that he took the singer to his own doctor, Michael Todd Schulenberg. Johnson's name was on some of the prescriptions Prince was taking. EMI RECORDS

Tyka Nelson, Prince's only full sibling, who set in motion the probate case over his estate. She and her attorneys leave Carver County courthouse after the first hearing on the musician's estate on May 2, 2016 in Chaska, Minn. Adam Bettcher, Getty Images

Sheila E., left, a former girlfriend of Prince and a band member, and Mayte Garcia, one of Prince's former wives, on stage following a performance in tribute to Prince at the BET Awards on Sunday, June 26, 2016, in Los Angeles. Matt Sayles, Matt Sayles/Invision/AP

Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson (L) and Chief Deputy Jason Kamerud (R) led the investigation into Prince's death. They spoke to reporters in Chaska, Minn., on April 22, the day after Prince was found dead. CRAIG LASSIG, EPA

The booking photo of Carlin Q. Williams, a federal prison inmate serving time on a weapons charge, claimed to be Prince's son, the product of a one-night stand at a hotel in July 1976. His was one of dozens of dubious claims to Prince's estate subsequently dismissed. AP

Dr. Howard Kornfeld, a specialist in addiction treatment and pain management, in August 2008 in his Mill Valley, Calif., office. He was called by Prince's staff to help treat him the day before he died. Liz Hafalia, AP